Gordon Haskett Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Gordon Haskett from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Gordon Haskett’s target price indicates a potential upside of 21.43% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on COST. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,027.75.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $905.85 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $921.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $958.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.78, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.